Wednesday, 28 November 2012

School Drop off/Pick up Safety

Safety is of primary importance in the morning and afterschool when students are being dropped off or picked up.

We are especially concerned about student safety in that area directly in front of the school door/bike racks and along the east side of the school adjacent to visitor parking.It is within this area that busses for our special needs students complete their drop off/pick ups.

In order to protect the safety of students at these critical times the school blocks the north entrance to the parking lot with pylons.This takes place in the morning at approximately 8:30 a.m. and in the afternoon at around 3:20 p.m.

A couple of MidSun students have taken on the task of putting out the pylons.While they allow the busses for special needs students to enter the parking area, they have been asked to refuse entry to parents who also may be attempting to enter the parking area.Our expectation is that all parents will honour this system in the interest of safety for all students.

There have been two recent incidents in which parents proceeded toward or into the parking area when the pylons were out and in spite of being asked to refrain by the two students.In one case a parent drove over a book bag and onto the grassy area adjacent to the entrance and was verbally defiant of the students’ request.In the second case a car nearly clipped one of the students as it proceeded between the pylons and entered the parking lot.In the second case a license plate number was recorded and the school has contacted the School Resource Officer, Constable Mair.Please be aware that any/all traffic infractions around the school may be reported to Calgary Police Services for investigation and/or charges.

We expect that parents will respect the restricted access to the parking lot during both the morning and afterschool drop off/pick up times.